U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,950 discloses (in vitro) the antiviral activity of carvone against adenovirus type 6, which is a double stranded DNA non enveloped virus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,950 discloses in its claim 1 “a process for deactivating viruses inside living human and animal organisms infected with said viruses comprising administering to one of said organisms a terpene selected from the group consisting of black pepper oil, cinnamon flower oil, cardamon oil, linallyl acetate, cinnamic aldehyde, carvone, and cis/trans citral, in a dosage amount effective to deactivate said viruses but ineffective to cause toxic effects on living cells of the living organism.”
The difference between the present invention and U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,950 is a chemical structural difference. The prior art does not comprise any composition having a compound of formula A or B or C as defined in the claims of the present invention.
No prior art has been found having a compound of formula A or B or C as defined in the claims of the present invention.
The objective technical problem to be solved is considered as the provision of a novel composition having an antiviral effect.
There is no teaching in the prior art as a whole that would have prompted the skilled person, faced with the objective technical problem, to modify the closest prior art while taking account of that teaching, thereby arriving at something falling within the terms of the claims of the present invention and thus achieving what the invention achieves. The answer to this question is clearly NO.